Quintessenz - Leipziger Querflötenensemble
Encyclopedia
Quintessenz – Leipziger Querflötenensemble is a flute quintet from Leipzig
, Germany
. Its members are five musicians of the “Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
”, the MDR Symphony Orchestra
, and the “Staatskapelle Halle
”. The group play music from every musical epoch and nearly every style.
, served as examples. The idea of an ensemble that consisted of musicians who played the same instruments in different voices excited the five flutists from Leipzig.
At first “Quintessenz” met in private to play Jazz
. As they all are trained as classical and not as jazz flutists they soon developed a characteristic sound. From the beginning everything they played had their classical education as basis.
Out of lack of literature for flute quintets “Quintessenz” began to arrange their own musical pieces. For that they did not only use music for quintets of different kinds but also adapted symphonic
pieces, piano literature, or completely different music. Thus they began to compile their own programmes.
In 1999 “Quintessenz” recorded their first CD, followed by three more. 2006 “Quintessenz” were invited by Trevor Wye to the flute festival of the British Flute Society in Manchester
. Since then they performed at various international festivals, inter alia in New York City
in August 2009, hosted by the National Flute Association
of the United States.
A few years ago “Quintessenz” started to focus on the support of young flutists. In cooperation with the regional music council (“Landesmusikrat”) and the “Jeunesses Musicales Germany” they hosted several workshops for flute chamber-music.
A special form of these programmes is the “musical promenade”. The audience is invited to walk through the landscape together with “Quintessenz” playing music at different places.
Additional programmes are for example “A Midsummer Night's Dream” – the programme for the Mendelssohn
year 2009. Parts of the music of the “Midsummer Night's Dream
” are the frame, replenished with pieces about summer, night, and elves.
, Hungary
. She studied in Budapest
, Munich
, and New York
. Her teachers included Paul Meisen and Jeanne Baxtresser
. Mrs Garzuly has been the Associate Principal Flute of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig since 1995. She has won numerous prizes at international competitions such as those in Scheveningen, Kobe
, Budapest and Geneva
. Anna Garzuly is much in demand as a soloist, teacher and as a competition judge.
Anna is the principal flute of the Quintessenz ensemble.
. She studied in Düsseldorf
and Essen
. She was awarded at several national an international competitions After working in the Cologne
and the Leipzig radio orchestras , she has been principal piccolo player of the Gewandhausorchester since 1993. She has been elected as a member of the Festival orchestra Bayreuth
since 1999. She is teaching the piccolo flute on the faculty ot the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover, working together with Prof. Andrea Lieberknecht.
For Quintessenz, Gudrun plays the piccolo flute and keeps arranging the music for the ensemble.
. She studied at the Dresden Hochschule für Musik where she was a student of Siegfried Teubel and Prof. Eckart Haupt. Mrs Günther has been commended with many awards at national and international competitions. Her first career position was as principal flute with the Radiophilharmonie Leipzig, today she is assistant principal flutist of the MDR-Sinfonieorchester. She also studied baroque flute from 1999-2002 in Leipzig with Benedek Csalog and has performed with various ensembles specialising in period performance practice.
, Bettine Keyßer studied flute with Prof. Dietrich Hoenow in Berlin
, with Eric Kirchoff as well as in Birmingham, Alabama
as the student of Dr Sheryl Cohen. Mrs Keyßer was principal piccolo player of the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock before becoming assistant principal flute of the Staatskapelle Halle starting in 1999. Today, she is performing the alto flute with Quintessenz…
, Turkey
, Italy
, and England
.
As for Quintessenz, he is the bass player - and the head of the ensemble!
Leipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
. Its members are five musicians of the “Gewandhausorchester Leipzig
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra
The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the the oldest symphony orchestras in the world...
”, the MDR Symphony Orchestra
MDR Symphony Orchestra
The MDR Symphony Orchestra is one of the oldest Radio orchestras in the world and the oldest in Germany. It was founded in Leipzig, Germany in 1923 and therefore 9 months earlier than the Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra...
, and the “Staatskapelle Halle
Staatskapelle Halle
The Staatskapelle Halle is a symphony orchestra based in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany....
”. The group play music from every musical epoch and nearly every style.
History
„Quintessenz – Leipziger Querflötenensemble“, was founded in 1996. The British a-cappella-band „King’s Singers“, and the „Bamboozles“, a flute quintet of five students of Trevor WyeTrevor Wye
Trevor Wye is a professional flutist, flute instructor, and author of several books about technical aspects of flute playing.The English flutist Trevor Wye began playing the flute at age 14...
, served as examples. The idea of an ensemble that consisted of musicians who played the same instruments in different voices excited the five flutists from Leipzig.
At first “Quintessenz” met in private to play Jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
. As they all are trained as classical and not as jazz flutists they soon developed a characteristic sound. From the beginning everything they played had their classical education as basis.
Out of lack of literature for flute quintets “Quintessenz” began to arrange their own musical pieces. For that they did not only use music for quintets of different kinds but also adapted symphonic
Symphony
A symphony is an extended musical composition in Western classical music, scored almost always for orchestra. A symphony usually contains at least one movement or episode composed according to the sonata principle...
pieces, piano literature, or completely different music. Thus they began to compile their own programmes.
In 1999 “Quintessenz” recorded their first CD, followed by three more. 2006 “Quintessenz” were invited by Trevor Wye to the flute festival of the British Flute Society in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
. Since then they performed at various international festivals, inter alia in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in August 2009, hosted by the National Flute Association
National Flute Association
The National Flute Association , is the largest organization for flutists in the world. It is an association in the United States.It was founded by Mark Thomas.-External links:*...
of the United States.
A few years ago “Quintessenz” started to focus on the support of young flutists. In cooperation with the regional music council (“Landesmusikrat”) and the “Jeunesses Musicales Germany” they hosted several workshops for flute chamber-music.
Programmes
Because of their very own style of music the “Quintessenz” programmes also have a special character. There is always a main topic or theme the music can be subordinated to. This theme can either be music or composer related (“Mozartimento”), but also country (“America!”) or literature related (“Tour de France”). In addition to that “Quintessenz” have several special programmes that combine music and poetry (“Hymn to fish”, “All those birds”). For those they are assisted by professional stage actors who recite poems to the respective topic.A special form of these programmes is the “musical promenade”. The audience is invited to walk through the landscape together with “Quintessenz” playing music at different places.
Additional programmes are for example “A Midsummer Night's Dream” – the programme for the Mendelssohn
Felix Mendelssohn
Jakob Ludwig Felix Mendelssohn Barthóldy , use the form 'Mendelssohn' and not 'Mendelssohn Bartholdy'. The Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians gives ' Felix Mendelssohn' as the entry, with 'Mendelssohn' used in the body text...
year 2009. Parts of the music of the “Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream
A Midsummer Night's Dream is a play that was written by William Shakespeare. It is believed to have been written between 1590 and 1596. It portrays the events surrounding the marriage of the Duke of Athens, Theseus, and the Queen of the Amazons, Hippolyta...
” are the frame, replenished with pieces about summer, night, and elves.
Anna Garzuly
Anna Garzuly was born in SzombathelySzombathely
Szombathely is the 10th largest city in Hungary. It is the administrative centre of Vas county in the west of the country, located near the border with Austria...
, Hungary
Hungary
Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The...
. She studied in Budapest
Budapest
Budapest is the capital of Hungary. As the largest city of Hungary, it is the country's principal political, cultural, commercial, industrial, and transportation centre. In 2011, Budapest had 1,733,685 inhabitants, down from its 1989 peak of 2,113,645 due to suburbanization. The Budapest Commuter...
, Munich
Munich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
, and New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. Her teachers included Paul Meisen and Jeanne Baxtresser
Jeanne Baxtresser
Jeanne Baxtresser is an American flutist. She was the principal flutist of the New York Philharmonic for 15 years. She is presently the Vira I. Heinz Professor of Flute at Carnegie Mellon University.-Biography:...
. Mrs Garzuly has been the Associate Principal Flute of the Gewandhausorchester Leipzig since 1995. She has won numerous prizes at international competitions such as those in Scheveningen, Kobe
Kobe
, pronounced , is the fifth-largest city in Japan and is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture on the southern side of the main island of Honshū, approximately west of Osaka...
, Budapest and Geneva
Geneva
Geneva In the national languages of Switzerland the city is known as Genf , Ginevra and Genevra is the second-most-populous city in Switzerland and is the most populous city of Romandie, the French-speaking part of Switzerland...
. Anna Garzuly is much in demand as a soloist, teacher and as a competition judge.
Anna is the principal flute of the Quintessenz ensemble.
Gudrun Hinze
Gudrun Hinze was born in Homburg, SaarlandHomburg, Saarland
Homburg is a town in Saarland, Germany, the administrative seat of the Saarpfalz district. With a population of c. 44,000 inhabitants, is the third city in its federal state. The medical department of the University of Saarland is situated here. The city is also home to the Karlsberg beer brewery...
. She studied in Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf
Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...
and Essen
Essen
- Origin of the name :In German-speaking countries, the name of the city Essen often causes confusion as to its origins, because it is commonly known as the German infinitive of the verb for the act of eating, and/or the German noun for food. Although scholars still dispute the interpretation of...
. She was awarded at several national an international competitions After working in the Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
and the Leipzig radio orchestras , she has been principal piccolo player of the Gewandhausorchester since 1993. She has been elected as a member of the Festival orchestra Bayreuth
Bayreuth Festival
The Bayreuth Festival is a music festival held annually in Bayreuth, Germany, at which performances of operas by the 19th century German composer Richard Wagner are presented...
since 1999. She is teaching the piccolo flute on the faculty ot the Hochschule für Musik in Hannover, working together with Prof. Andrea Lieberknecht.
For Quintessenz, Gudrun plays the piccolo flute and keeps arranging the music for the ensemble.
Ute Günther
Ute Günther was born in DresdenDresden
Dresden is the capital city of the Free State of Saxony in Germany. It is situated in a valley on the River Elbe, near the Czech border. The Dresden conurbation is part of the Saxon Triangle metropolitan area....
. She studied at the Dresden Hochschule für Musik where she was a student of Siegfried Teubel and Prof. Eckart Haupt. Mrs Günther has been commended with many awards at national and international competitions. Her first career position was as principal flute with the Radiophilharmonie Leipzig, today she is assistant principal flutist of the MDR-Sinfonieorchester. She also studied baroque flute from 1999-2002 in Leipzig with Benedek Csalog and has performed with various ensembles specialising in period performance practice.
Bettine Keyßer
Born in PotsdamPotsdam
Potsdam is the capital city of the German federal state of Brandenburg and part of the Berlin/Brandenburg Metropolitan Region. It is situated on the River Havel, southwest of Berlin city centre....
, Bettine Keyßer studied flute with Prof. Dietrich Hoenow in Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, with Eric Kirchoff as well as in Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham, Alabama
Birmingham is the largest city in Alabama. The city is the county seat of Jefferson County. According to the 2010 United States Census, Birmingham had a population of 212,237. The Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Area, in estimate by the U.S...
as the student of Dr Sheryl Cohen. Mrs Keyßer was principal piccolo player of the Norddeutsche Philharmonie Rostock before becoming assistant principal flute of the Staatskapelle Halle starting in 1999. Today, she is performing the alto flute with Quintessenz…
Christian Sprenger
Christian Sprenger is a native of Berlin. After completing his studies with Prof. Werner Tast in 1989 his career began with the Leipzig Gewandhausorchester as assistant principal flutist. In 1995 he became principal flutist of the MDR-Sinfonieorchester. Christian has also won several prizes in various competitions. He pursues an active career as soloist and chamber ensemble player with concert tours in the USAUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
.
As for Quintessenz, he is the bass player - and the head of the ensemble!
Discography
- 1999: Bonsoir
- 2003: Arabesques
- 2006: America!
- 2007: Tour de France